Two Mini-Murdoch Mysteries
by DoctorH
Summary: A teleplay in two acts, in which Murdoch and Crabtree are investigating two separate murder cases. Murdoch is taking the lead in one case, and Crabtree is taking the lead in the other, subject to Murdoch's supervision. Both Murdoch and Crabtree are puzzled by their respective cases, but each man educates the other so that they can formulate plausible solutions.
1. ACT I

"Two Mini-Murdoch Mysteries"

(AUTHOR'S NOTE: Each of the mysteries here could be the centre of a separate mystery, supporting two separate stories. I decided, however, to combine the two mysteries into a single short story, and explore the idea that sometimes two heads can be better than one.)

ACT I

(FADE IN. ESTABLISHING SHOT OF STATION HOUSE NUMBER FOUR, afternoon. CUT TO: INT. STATION HOUSE NUMBER FOUR, MURDOCH'S OFFICE. MURDOCH is seated at his desk, reviewing documents and scowling. CRABTREE approaches MURDOCH'S OFFICE and knocks. MURDOCH looks up; MURDOCH'S expression suggests that he is not pleased to see CRABTREE.)

CRABTREE  
Is this a bad time, sir?

MURDOCH  
(sighing) Is this about the Erb case?

CRABTREE  
It is, sir. (helpfully) You asked for me to give you an oral report this afternoon.

MURDOCH  
That I did. (sighing again) Now is perhaps as good a time as any, George.

(MURDOCH sets the documents aside. MURDOCH motions, and CRABTREE enters and shuts the office door. CRABTREE seats himself and readies his notebook.)

MURDOCH  
(muttering) This Spooner case is taking longer than I had thought. Well. What have you, George?

CRABTREE  
I have interviewed all of the witnesses in the Erb case.

MURDOCH  
Excellent. Before you give your report, George, please refresh my recollection a bit about the Erb case.

CRABTREE  
Quentin Erb was killed in his own home at about eleven o'clock this morning, give or take half an hour, by an assailant armed with a sword. The evidence indicates that the murder took place in Mr. Erb's bedroom, which is where his body was found. There were four other men in the house at the time. (consulting his notes) Mr. Sutherland, Mr. Nance, Mr. Willingham and Mr. Beeson. Apparently the murder weapon was Mr. Erb's own sword; Mr. Erb served in the army many years ago and he had mounted on his hallway wall his army sword. The sword was removed from its mounting and was used to take Mr. Erb's life.

MURDOCH  
Does Dr. Ogden agree that the sword was the weapon used?

CRABTREE  
She does indeed, sir. The victim's wounds are consistent with (pantomiming a sword thrust) penetration in the midsection by the sword (pantomiming a sword withdrawal); Mr. Erb's death was quick; the sword was found at the scene, stained with blood.

MURDOCH  
Has Mr. Erb's sword been checked for finger marks?

CRABTREE  
Yes. There are none. The grip of the sword would not retain finger marks.

MURDOCH  
And I assume that none of the other people in the house saw or heard who was responsible.

CRABTREE  
That is indeed what they say. Each man has given a statement saying that he did not see Mr. Erb being attacked, nor hear anything that sounded like an attack; and each says he does not know who did commit the attack. (pause) But at least one of them is lying.

MURDOCH  
In other words, you believe one of the men in the house is the killer.

CRABTREE  
I do, sir. Each man asserted his own innocence, and each man was quick to point out that Mr. Erb had many enemies; but there are no indications of anyone else being in the house at the time. Also, it is unclear how any intruder could have gotten into or out of the house without being seen. All windows were latched, there was no forced entry, and there were no footprints on the property except those leading to the front door. Further, no stranger was seen on the premises or escaping from the scene of the crime.

MURDOCH  
All right. These four friends who were in the house at the time—

CRABTREE  
(interrupting) Actually, they were not "friends." They were more "business acquaintances."

MURDOCH  
Oh. So— these other four men were in the house, as part of some sort of business arrangement?

CRABTREE  
Yes, sir, in a manner of speaking. They were all there to try to settle a business dispute. The dispute is quite complicated and— I am hesitant to say so— I do not really understand it.

MURDOCH  
(irked) Well, since Mr. Erb was involved in a serious dispute, George, it may be relevant to motive! You may have to work harder to understand what this dispute was all about. It may be the key to solving the case.

CRABTREE  
I agree, sir! But if I may explain: The victim— Mr. Erb— and three of the other men in the house, are all parties to a lawsuit, in which title to a very large piece of real estate is at stake. The legal issues in the lawsuit are so complicated, that the judge in the case has asked the parties to sit down and try to settle the case on their own, so that he will not have to sort through all of the thorny issues.

MURDOCH  
Ah. So the reason the men were in the house together was to discuss putting a legal dispute to rest.

CRABTREE  
Yes. This was actually the second day of meetings at Mr. Erb's home. Four of the men— the late Mr. Erb, along with Mr. Sutherland, Mr. Nance and Mr. Willingham— are parties to the lawsuit. But the fifth man in the house—

MURDOCH  
I was just about to ask about him.

CRABTREE  
—Mr. Beeson, is a neutral party who was acting as mediator, to try to help the four men reach an agreement. Mr. Beeson, I understand, is quite good at this sort of thing.

MURDOCH  
So Mr. Sutherland, Mr. Nance and Mr. Willingham may have had reason to do harm to Mr. Erb, because they were involved in a serious legal dispute. Did Mr. Beeson have a possible motive, George?

CRABTREE  
No, sir. As a matter of fact, I have effectively ruled out Mr. Beeson as a suspect, sir. Not only does Mr. Beeson lack any motive to kill Mr. Erb, Mr. Beeson suffers from joint ailments that affect his ability to walk and move. He is in no physical condition to slay a man with a sword.

MURDOCH  
Ah. But the other three men, they are all capable?

CRABTREE  
Yes sir. They are capable. And moreover, all three were known to be out of the view of other witnesses for many times that day.

MURDOCH  
So they all had the opportunity to commit the crime.

CRABTREE  
Exactly, sir. I feel I should also mention that there is no agreement among the witnesses about the events or activities of the various suspects. I have tried to find a generally agreed-upon timeline of events, but the witnesses agree on some things, and disagree on other things. Trying to establish who was where in the house at what time has been a fruitless endeavour. And since the time of death at eleven in the morning is only an approximation, we cannot know which man was missing at the time of the crime. We do know that most discussions took place in the drawing room, on the opposite end of the house from the bedroom where Mr. Erb's body was found.

MURDOCH  
Were there any scheduled events or patterns that may help us recreate a timeline?

CRABTREE  
Not really, sir. Mr. Nance mentioned that he made some trips to the kitchen to get tea, and a few trips to the study to use the telephone. Mr. Sutherland took some breaks to smoke his pipe, and did so away from the meeting area so as not to offend Mr. Beeson, who found tobacco smoke to be highly disagreeable. Mr. Willingham said he used the washroom at least twice and he too used the telephone in the study. Mr. Erb got up from time to time and walked around. Every so often, some of the men would go off somewhere and converse, and return to the drawing room a few minutes later. These were all impromptu events, and no one could give any time when any person was in the drawing room or away from it. Except, of course, Mr. Beeson; he was in the drawing room at all times, he never moved from his chair.

MURDOCH  
If, as you say, Mr. Beeson can be ruled out as a suspect, then he may be less likely to distort the truth, and his testimony might be worthy of more weight. Does Mr. Beeson have an account of who was where at what time?

CRABTREE  
(sighing) He does not. He said he never left the drawing room and could not see down the hallway or the bedroom where the crime took place. Some of the time, one or more of the others were with him in the drawing room, and a few times, he was alone. But he cannot be sure about the order of events or the times at which they occurred. He candidly admitted that he simply did not pay attention.

MURDOCH  
(sighing) Who discovered Mr. Erb's body?

CRABTREE  
Mr. Nance did, sir. It was noticed that Mr. Erb had been absent for some time, and so the others went to look for him. Mr. Nance found his body in the bedroom and alerted the others. At that time, Mr. Willingham was looking in another bedroom, and Mr. Sutherland had checked the washroom. When Mr. Nance yelled, they all converged on the bedroom and saw the body. The Constabulary was notified at once.

MURDOCH  
How much time elapsed between Mr. Nance going into the bedroom and alerting the others?

CRABTREE  
A few seconds. The witnesses all agree it was between ten to thirty seconds.

MURDOCH  
(sighing) It sounds as if I will have to interview all of these witnesses anew. With my attention to the Spooner case, however, I wonder how I will find the time. In the meantime, George, there is something you can do for me.

CRABTREE  
Yes, sir?

MURDOCH  
Make a map of the house, showing where all of the rooms were. The map need not be exactly to scale, but—

CRABTREE  
(interrupting) Sir, I've already done that.

(CRABTREE rises and pulls a folded paper from his notebook, unfolds it, and hands the paper to MURDOCH. The paper shows a house floor plan. MURDOCH is impressed.)

CRABTREE  
This is not precise, but it is fairly close to scale. I used my own paces as a guide for the lengths.

MURDOCH  
Excellent! (looking over the plan) And where was the body found?

CRABTREE  
Here, sir, in this bedroom, between the bed and the north wall.

MURDOCH  
The house seems to be quite large! Only one story?

CRABTREE  
Yes, sir; and a wine cellar, which my drawing does not show.

MURDOCH  
(pointing to the map) There are one, two, three, four bedrooms, is that right?

CRABTREE  
Yes, sir. Mr. Erb and his wife had seven children. Mrs. Erb and two of the children died a few years ago, and the other children are grown. Mr. Erb lived in this house alone.

MURDOCH  
And these other rooms— washroom, kitchen, dining area, study, closets, drawing room?

CRABTREE  
Exactly right.

MURDOCH  
I see you've drawn a number of chairs in the drawing room.

CRABTREE  
Yes, the drawing room is where most of the discussions took place. Mr. Beeson spent nearly all of his time in this chair here, next to the fireplace.

MURDOCH  
I take it there was no fire in the fireplace; otherwise Mr. Beeson would have been too warm.

CRABTREE  
Yes, sir. The fireplace was not in use.

MURDOCH  
Those in the drawing room can see partly into the drawing room, part of the hallway, and the front door— but other parts of the house cannot be seen from the drawing room.

CRABTREE  
Correct, sir.

MURDOCH  
And where was the sword?

CRABTREE  
(pointing to the map) Here, in a display case on the wall at the end of the hallway. The sword could have easily— and silently— been removed from the case.

MURDOCH  
And could then have been used to silently commit the murder. By the way, I assume you have had the scene photographed—?

CRABTREE  
Yes, sir. I had the entire house photographed, not just the bedroom where the body was found.

MURDOCH  
Excellent. When the photographs are ready, let's look at them.

CRABTREE  
Yes, sir.

MURDOCH  
(slightly exasperated) I'm sorry, George, but this is really all of the time I can spare for you. I must return to the Spooner case—

CRABTREE  
I understand, of course, sir. I will question the four men again, to determine whether I can understand their dispute and possible motives, better.

MURDOCH  
And press them on their alibis.

CRABTREE  
Yes, sir.

MURDOCH  
And ask about their experience with swords.

CRABTREE  
I did ask. Mr. Willingham admitted to enjoying fencing in his younger days, but he used an epee rather than a military sword. Mr. Sutherland and Mr. Nance were in military service, and they learned about the use of bayonettes, and drilled with bayonettes, but not swords.

MURDOCH  
(a bit rattled) I'm afraid, George— I'm afraid I just cannot adequately focus on the Erb case right now. Just— just question the witnesses again, look for inconsistencies and other problems with their stories, and— and we'll discuss this case again tomorrow. Bring the photographs of the crime scene.

CRABTREE  
Of course, sir. Begging your pardon, sir?

MURDOCH  
Yes?

CRABTREE  
The Spooner case— I was just wondering what it was about—?

MURDOCH  
(after a moment collecting his thoughts) Mr. and Mrs. Spooner were shot and killed at six o'clock in the morning last Tuesday, at the rooming house that they owned. The time of the shooting is known with great accuracy, because the occupants in the building heard the gunshots, and seconds later, heard a cuckoo clock sound six times, and while the cuckooing was going on, they heard the sound of the killer escaping through the front door. The occupants promptly finished dressing and came downstairs and found the bodies of Mr. and Mrs. Spooner. I have a prime suspect in the slaying: his name is Max Zeller. He was one of the occupants of the rooming house. He has motive— a very strong motive, in fact— and he was known to own a pistol of the type that fired the bullets that killed the Spooners. A pistol that he now claims to have "lost."

CRABTREE  
(anticipating the next word) But—?

MURDOCH  
But— Mr. Zeller has a very solid alibi. He was with co-workers from 5:58 until 6:03 that morning, when he reported for work. And since the other occupants in the house all agree that the shooting occurred just a few seconds before six o'clock, it would mean that Mr. Zeller did not have an opportunity to commit the crime. Mr. Zeller could have committed the crime at 5:55 before he left the house; or he could have returned to the house briefly at 6:05 and committed the crime— but we know that the crime was committed at PRECISELY six o'clock.

CRABTREE  
The witnesses supporting Mr. Zeller's alibi, are they—?

MURDOCH  
Unshakable. They all swear Mr. Zeller was with them at six o'clock. They all were present, Mr. Zeller included, when the Fiduciary Bank clock showed six o'clock. And the Fiduciary Bank clock is well-known for its accuracy.

CRABTREE  
Perhaps, the cuckoo clock in the rooming house is wrong, then?

(MURDOCH makes a face.)

MURDOCH  
Perhaps. At this time, I have no evidence of that. It is possible that Mr. Zeller— or someone else— reset the hands on the cuckoo clock, or tampered with the clock to make it run slower or faster. If Mr. Zeller tampered with the cuckoo clock, he may have committed the murder at 5:55 or 6:05, but the other occupants may have THOUGHT the time was exactly six o'clock. Tampering is something that I need to investigate further. (anxious to begin) And I really ought to be investigating it now.

(An idea strikes CRABTREE.)

CRABTREE  
Could it be that Mr. Zeller tampered with the clock by re—?

MURDOCH  
(interrupting) George, I'm sorry, but I must break this off. You have work to do and so do I.

CRABTREE  
I— of course, sir. I will come to your office again tomorrow.

(MURDOCH returns to examining the documents on his desk, and making a few notes.)

MURDOCH  
(lost in his work) Fine.

(CRABTREE quietly collects his things and leaves the office. FADE OUT.)


	2. ACT II

ACT II

(FADE IN. ESTABLISHING SHOT OF STATION HOUSE NUMBER FOUR, afternoon of the next day. CUT TO: INT. STATION HOUSE NUMBER FOUR, MURDOCH'S OFFICE. MURDOCH is seated at his desk. In addition to a number of documents, there is a cuckoo clock, mounted on a meter-and-a-half-high upright piece of wood, next to the desk. Also nearby are various detective tools, notably a magnifying glass and a stopwatch. CRABTREE, carrying a folder holding a large number of documents, approaches MURDOCH'S OFFICE and knocks. MURDOCH looks up; once again, MURDOCH'S expression suggests that he is not pleased to see CRABTREE. MURDOCH waves CRABTREE in. CRABTREE enters the office, and begins to extract documents from the folder; as will be seen, most of these documents are actually crime scene photographs. MURDOCH clears his desk so that the photographs may be examined. CRABTREE places some photographs on the cleared portion of the desk and stands next to the desk. MURDOCH stands also. From time to time, the men bend over the table to examine the evidence.)

MURDOCH  
Ah. These are the photographs of the Erb crime scene.

CRABTREE  
Yes, sir.

MURDOCH  
(scanning the photographs) It was prudent of you to have photographs taken of all of the rooms, not just the room where the body was found.

CRABTREE  
I didn't want to miss anything.

(MURDOCH examines the photographs of the bedroom with Erb's body still in place. There are several such photographs.)

MURDOCH  
(pointing out things shown in a photo.) Mr. Erb's body. Hmm. And the sword.

CRABTREE  
All witnesses agree that this is approximately where the weapon was found, though Mr. Nance and Mr. Sutherland admitted that they had picked it up before realizing that it ought not to be touched. In any event, the finger marks of neither man were found on the sword—

MURDOCH  
(finishing the sentence) — Because the handle does not retain finger marks.

(CRABTREE nods. MURDOCH reviews other photographs of the bedroom and Erb's body. The body is not flat on the floor, but is slightly propped up in a corner of the bedroom between a bed and a wall, with the head closer to the corner. One window looking east is above the bed's heavy headboard next to the body. There is another window, looking north just past the feet. Above the body on the walls is a sizable framed picture of a group of men. On the far side of the bed, about six feet from the body, is a small side table with a vase, a water glass, and a pitcher.)

MURDOCH  
So Mr. Erb was standing in this corner when he was stabbed.

CRABTREE  
Yes, sir. There is no trail of blood suggesting that he staggered there after being stabbed. Rather, he was, quite literally, cornered.

MURDOCH  
If he was trying to flee from his attacker, this corner seems an odd place to go. Surely he knew he would have no escape around the bed or through a window. He would have no access to anything he might use in his defence, such as this vase or this pitcher.

CRABTREE  
I noticed that as well. I hypothesize that Mr. Erb was not trying to flee, but was taken by surprise.

MURDOCH  
Hmm.

(MURDOCH looks at a few other photographs. Some show other bedrooms, which are sparsely furnished. Another shows the hallway with a frame.)

CRABTREE  
(pointing) That is the mounting from which the sword was taken, sir.

(MURDOCH looks at a few other photographs. One seems to show a kitchen. On the stove is a tea kettle, but otherwise, there is nothing on the stove or the counters except for a dark, round dish, apparently smaller than a dinner plate. There appears to be a wisp of burned waste paper on top of a pile of crumbled ashes in the ashtray. Otherwise, the kitchen is super-clean.)

MURDOCH  
The kitchen. (indicating the dark dish) Curious. This item seems out of place. What is it?

CRABTREE  
Oh, that, sir, is an ashtray. Mr. Sutherland smoked his pipe there, next to that window. He deposited his ashes in that tray.

MURDOCH  
(slowly) Ah, I see. The kitchen otherwise seems to be, well, unused.

CRABTREE  
It is unused, sir. Since his wife died, Mr. Erb has taken his meals at a hotel that he owns, or had them delivered from the hotel to his home. He has never learned to cook. The kitchen has been essentially unused for years.

MURDOCH  
(looking at another photograph) The dining room. It likewise seems to have been unused.

CRABTREE  
The witnesses said that some brief discussions were held there, but otherwise, it was unused.

MURDOCH  
(looking at some other photographs) And this is the drawing room, where most of the discussions took place?

CRABTREE  
Yes, sir. (indicating) This is the chair that Mr. Beeson used. The others sat wherever they pleased; no one had any "assigned" chair.

(One of the photographs shows a table in the drawing room with a dark top. There is a teapot, and teacup and saucer on the table, along with what appear to be some small white rectangles.)

MURDOCH  
(indicating) What are these things here, on the table, George?

CRABTREE  
Those are simply blank pieces of note paper, sir. They were used for any purpose, such as to perform computations or to memorialize any agreement with respect to their dispute, if any agreement were to be reached.

MURDOCH  
(looking up from the photos) Ah. Did you make any progress, George, in understanding the nature of the dispute among these men?

CRABTREE  
(sighing) I have a somewhat more detailed understanding of it, sir. I got some additional explanation mostly from Mr. Beeson, although the other three men concurred with his explanation. The subject of the dispute is a valuable piece of real property. The issues pertain to the propriety of various conflicting conveyances of parts or the entire parcel of the property; and verified chain of title; and as well to priority of interests; and whether documents of recordation have been properly perfected and on what day; and further whether various encumbrances would have invalidated one or more instruments of conveyance; and whether there were inducements based upon fraud. As for the positions of each of the individual parties on these respective issues—

(MURDOCH's eyes go glassy.)

MURDOCH  
Never mind. Never mind. I can see that, as you say, the issues are legally complicated.

CRABTREE  
(relieved he does not need to explain further) Yes, sir. There is one further fact that you may find to be of interest, sir. There is agreement among all of the witnesses that the one person who was standing in the way of settlement of the lawsuit was Mr. Erb. The others had agreed in principle to an equal division of the assets. Mr. Erb, however, was adamantly opposed to equal sharing, because he felt strongly that the law was on his side, which, as Mr. Beeson opined, it may well be.

MURDOCH  
So if Mr. Erb is out of the way—

CRABTREE  
(finishing the thought) — The dispute could be resolved to the satisfaction of all of the parties, merely by sharing the property equally. And today I have learned—

MURDOCH  
(finishing the thought) — That the parties HAVE reached a settlement.

CRABTREE  
Exactly, sir. They have agreed to split the value of the property four ways—

MURDOCH  
Four ways?

CRABTREE  
Yes, sir, with Mr. Erb's estate taking one-fourth. While he was alive, Mr. Erb wanted no less than eighty percent of the value; but the others expect the executor will approve the settlement for a significantly smaller share; and that they can finalize the agreement within a week. They are, as we speak, meeting with the judge in chambers to tell him that they believe the lawsuit has been settled. So, as far as motive for killing Mr. Erb is concerned, Mr. Willingham, Mr. Sutherland and Mr. Nance ALL benefit from his death. They get equal shares and they put an end to this troublesome and expensive litigation.

MURDOCH  
Curious. Certainly they know, or at least suspect, that one among them is a murderer. Yet they seem willing to overlook this fact in the interest of increasing their wealth. And certainly the judge would be wondering about the guilt of the parties as well. Likely, they are all telling the judge— as they told you, George— that each of them is innocent and some stranger must be responsible for Mr. Erb's death. This meeting with the judge: when will it conclude?

CRABTREE  
I believe everyone expected it would be over by fifteen minutes past four o'clock.

MURDOCH  
(consulting the cuckoo clock) Less than thirty minutes from now. All right. George, when these men conclude their meeting with the judge, you will be present outside the judge's chambers, to arrest one of them.

CRABTREE  
(stunned) I will? Which one, sir?

MURDOCH  
(smiling) You tell me.

CRABTREE  
But— I don't have any prime suspect.

MURDOCH  
George: First, tell me this: Why was Mr. Erb in the bedroom? Why was he in the corner where his dead body was found?

CRABTREE  
I— I don't know.

MURDOCH  
(trying another approach) Where was Mr. Erb stabbed? What part of his body, I mean?

CRABTREE  
(indicating on his own abdomen) About here, sir.

MURDOCH  
From the front?

CRABTREE  
Yes, mostly from the front. The wound was oblique, I suppose you could say; in other words, Mr. Erb was not directly facing his attacker when he was run through.

MURDOCH  
Would it be possible, do you think, for the attacker simply to walk up to Mr. Erb and stab him?

CRABTREE  
No. If Mr. Erb saw his attacker coming with a sword, he would have cried out, or tried to flee. He did neither. So he was taken by surprise. (asking himself) But how could he be stabbed from the front and yet be taken by surprise? (answering himself) Because he was momentarily misdirected or distracted! He was looking at something else, and as he turned to give his attention to the attacker, he was stabbed!

MURDOCH  
A reasonable re-creation, George. Now: why was Mr. Erb in the CORNER of the bedroom?

CRABTREE  
Because— (putting it together) that is where the misdirecting thing is. That is the thing that had his attention for a few moments, while the attacker took the sword, presumably from behind his back, and prepared to strike.

MURDOCH  
What sort of misdirecting thing is in that corner, George?

CRABTREE  
Well, it could be something outside the house, but it is difficult to see through the windows from there. The only thing in that corner is—

(CRABTREE fumbles through the photographs; he finds one of the bedroom showing Erb's body in the corner and a framed picture on the wall.)

CRABTREE  
This picture! This picture of these men! Taken to commemorate the groundbreaking for a hotel.

(CRABTREE studies the picture in the photograph.)

CRABTREE  
(indicating) One of the men in this framed picture is Mr. Erb, here. And this is Mr. Willingham! And this is Mr. Sutherland! I— I don't see Mr. Nance anywhere.

MURDOCH  
So. Mr. Erb is in the bedroom. The attacker silently retrieves the sword from the hallway display and holds the sword behind his back.

CRABTREE  
(picking up the thought) The attacker enters the bedroom and after a few pleasantries tells Mr. Erb that there is something in that picture that Mr. Erb needs to see. Something very important.

MURDOCH  
Perhaps. But how would the attacker convince Mr. Erb to believe there is something important in that picture?

CRABTREE  
Because— the attacker is IN the picture, and Mr. Erb knows it! Suggesting that the killer is Mr. Sutherland or Mr. Willingham, because they are both present in that picture.

(MURDOCH grins subtly.)

CRABTREE  
(continuing his re-creation) Mr. Erb goes into the corner to look at the picture. The attacker quietly follows. As Mr. Erb's back is turned, the attacker pulls the sword from behind his back and gets ready to strike. And when Mr. Erb starts to turn back toward the attacker, the attacker thrusts the sword into Mr. Erb.

MURDOCH  
So far, so good, George. Now: Why was Mr. Erb in that bedroom AT ALL?

CRABTREE  
I don't— Wait a minute. He was in that bedroom because the attacker WANTED him to be in the bedroom. That's the room where the attacker planned to commit the crime!

MURDOCH  
But how did Mr. Erb get lured into his own bedroom?

CRABTREE  
(reasoning it out) The attacker must have told him to go there!

MURDOCH  
(in mock astonishment) Curious that none of the witnesses mentioned hearing any such thing.

CRABTREE  
(momentarily puzzled) Yes. Unless— The request wasn't said out loud!

(CRABTREE fumbles through the photographs, and finds one of the drawing room.)

CRABTREE  
The attacker may have written Mr. Erb a note on one of the pieces of paper, saying, "Meet me in your bedroom at eleven o'clock," or some such thing, along with some promise of a way in which he could get the best of the settlement. So! Shortly before eleven o'clock, Mr. Erb leaves the drawing room— as many have done, it was not unusual— and goes to the bedroom. Some minutes later, the attacker retrieves the sword and enters the bedroom and commits the crime. That all fits!

MURDOCH  
And the key piece of evidence, then, would be that written note that lured Mr. Erb to his doom.

CRABTREE  
(deflated) But there is no note. All of the suspects were searched. The house was searched. We would have found any such note, if there was one. We did find a few scribbled notes in the house, all right, but they were calculations and lists and the like; none referred to the bedroom or Mr. Erb.

MURDOCH  
There was no note to be found. Which may suggest—?

(CRABTREE takes a moment; then his eyes light up.)

CRABTREE  
If there HAD BEEN such a note, the note must have been destroyed. And the only way it could be completely destroyed would be by burning. But— there was no fire in the fireplace. (after a moment) But— there was another fire!

MURDOCH  
(smiling) And where was that, George?

CRABTREE  
Mr. Sutherland! He smoked a pipe! And he was the only one who carried matches! I know this because Mr. Nance had to borrow one of his matches to light the gas stove to get hot water for his tea!

(CRABTREE snatches up the photographs showing the ashtray.)

CRABTREE  
And his ashtray had ash in it that was not tobacco ash! Sir! Mr. Sutherland wrote the note, and slipped it to Mr. Erb, then after killing Mr. Erb, he retrieved the note and burned it while smoking his pipe!

MURDOCH  
So when the meeting with the judge is concluded, George, who are you going to arrest?

CRABTREE  
Mr. Sutherland! I know that we have a lot of suppositions, but I believe I can use them to form an effective interrogation!

MURDOCH  
Very good, George. Keep in mind that one of the other men may have conspired with Mr. Sutherland; but if you can get him to incriminate himself, you will likely get him to incriminate his co-conspirators, if he has any. You may have solved this case all by yourself.

CRABTREE  
(sheepishly) With your considerable guidance, sir.

MURDOCH  
Anyway, I must now turn my attention back to the Spooner case. I am more convinced than ever that Mr. Zeller is the killer. (pained) But his alibi for six o'clock seems to be solid.

(CRABTREE collects the photographs from the desk while MURDOCH moves the mounted cuckoo clock next to his desk.)

CRABTREE  
Sir, since you helped me with my case, and since I have some time to spare, perhaps I can help you with yours—?

MURDOCH  
(skeptical) I doubt there is much you can do, George. What I have been doing today is checking the cuckoo clock for tampering. All of the occupants agree that the cuckoo clock kept near-perfect time. They relied upon it for their daily schedules, and it never failed them.

CRABTREE  
I believe you were checking into whether the prime suspect, Mr. Zeller, could have tampered with the clock.

MURDOCH  
Yes. (sighing) And it appears he did not. One possibility I considered: Mr. Zeller reset the clock, set it back or ahead by, say, five minutes. So when the cuckoo cuckooed six times, the time was REALLY five minutes before or five minutes after six o'clock. But this scenario does not work. If the clock had been set forward or backward by five minutes, then the clock would STILL be five minutes ahead or behind after the crime was committed. When I investigated the scene, I found the clock to be showing the correct time, and Mr. Zeller had no opportunity to reset the clock to the correct time.

CRABTREE  
Perhaps he committed the crime, quickly reset the clock, then escaped.

MURDOCH  
That scenario also has difficulties. He would have had to reset the clock very quickly and very accurately, which would be a difficult thing to accomplish. Besides, the other occupants of the rooming house agreed that three noises occurred in rapid succession: the shots, followed almost immediately by the start of the cuckooing, and the opening and shutting of the front door while the cuckooing was in progress.

CRABTREE  
It could be done, though—?

MURDOCH  
(shaking his head) Add to that the fact that Mr. Zeller is too short of stature to reach the hands on the cuckoo clock, and there was nothing nearby upon which he could stand to reach the clock face. He was just tall enough, however, to reach the pendulum. So I wondered whether he had adjusted the bob on the pendulum—

(MURDOCH indicates the leaf-shaped structure on the clock's pendulum.)

MURDOCH  
— sliding it upward to make the clock run faster or downward to make the clock run slower. But once again, resetting the pendulum quickly and accurately in just a second or two would be a nearly impossible feat. Plus, this scenario would require Mr. Zeller to reset the pendulum AND the clock hands before fleeing. (picking up the magnifying glass) Add to that the fact that microscopic examination shows the pendulum has not been adjusted recently, and that the face of the clock, the hands of the clock, and the pendulum do not have any finger marks that could remotely match those of Mr. Zeller. The only finger marks I can find are consistent with Mr. Spooner. So, if Mr. Zeller tampered with the clock to make it cuckoo at the wrong time, he must have undone his tampering within a second or two, and left no trace of the tampering.

(MURDOCH scowls.)

CRABTREE  
(off-handedly) Or he may simply have deactivated the cuckoo.

MURDOCH  
Pardon me?

CRABTREE  
Mr. Zeller may simply have deactivated the cuckoo.

(MURDOCH thinks CRABTREE might have something, but MURDOCH is cautious.)

MURDOCH  
You are going to have to explain that, George.

CRABTREE  
I used to live in a house that had a cuckoo clock. The cuckooing used to keep me awake at night, so I got into the habit of deactivating the cuckoo at night, and reactivating it in the morning.

MURDOCH  
And how did you do that, George?

(CRABTREE points to the clock as he explains matter-of-factly.)

CRABTREE  
This particular clock, sir, has two weights on chains, which power the mechanisms by gravity. The weights must be manually moved upward (CRABTREE demonstrates) from time to time to supply mechanical power to make the clock function.

MURDOCH  
Yes—?

CRABTREE  
If I'm not mistaken, this left weight powers the clockwork itself, and keeps the pendulum swinging. This right weight powers the cuckoo and the clock chimes, if any. To deactivate the cuckoo, all you need to do is remove this weight from the chain.

(CRABTREE removes the pinecone-shaped weight from a hook on the chain.)

CRABTREE  
Without this weight, the clock still works, but the cuckoo will not make any sound.

MURDOCH  
But the cuckoo DID make a sound, George.

CRABTREE  
Yes, sir. Let me demonstrate. As you can see, it is almost four o'clock. Any second now, the clock will make a click sound, meaning that the clockwork will be telling the cuckoo to cuckoo. But I've removed the weight, so the cuckoo cannot cuckoo.

(The clock shows exactly four o'clock; the clock makes a clicking sound [SFX]. But there is no cuckoo sound, and no chimes.)

CRABTREE  
You see, sir? No cuckoo.

MURDOCH  
(still hasn't got it) But everyone heard the cuckoo.

CRABTREE  
And so will we. The clockwork mechanism has told the cuckoo mechanism, "Go ahead and cuckoo four times." But the cuckoo mechanism says, "I can't cuckoo at all; I don't have any power."

(CRABTREE shows the weight in his hand.)

CRABTREE  
So the cuckoo mechanism is ready to cuckoo, and all it needs is power. So if I reattach the weight—

(CRABTREE reattaches the weight and lets it hang. The cuckoo immediately cuckoos four times [SFX]! The clock shows two minutes past four o'clock. MURDOCH puts the pieces together at once. Before MURDOCH can say anything, CRABTREE explains.)

CRABTREE  
So, one possible scenario is this: Just before Mr. Zeller went off to work at 5:55, he removed the weight that powers the cuckoo. He established his alibi with his co-workers at exactly six o'clock. As soon as he could, five minutes after six or so, he returned to the rooming house. He found the Spooners and shot them dead in cold blood. He then reattached the weight— that took only a second— and the cuckoo, which was all set to go but had no power, immediately began to make noise. And Mr. Zeller fled the house while the cuckoo was still saying that it was six o'clock!

MURDOCH  
It was really five minutes after six o'clock, but all of the witnesses swear that it was EXACTLY six o'clock! And it was not necessary for Mr. Zeller to reset the hands of the clock at all!

CRABTREE  
And since Mr. Zeller was a resident of the house, he knew that the other occupants would rely upon that cuckoo clock to tell them the hour.

(MURDOCH mulls it all over and is satisfied. He abruptly stands straight up, and heads to his coat rack to retrieve his hat and coat. CRABTREE stands straight up as well, and prepares to follow MURDOCH.)

MURDOCH  
George, I am going to speak to Inspector Brackenreid about your fine work on these two cases. But that will have to wait. You and I each need to get the assistance of at least one other constable. We are each going to make some arrests!

(MURDOCH and CRABTREE walk hastily out of the office, and beckon to HIGGINS and JACKSON, who both quickly rise. MURDOCH and JACKSON head out onto the street one way, and CRABTREE and HIGGINS head out onto the street in a different direction. FADE OUT.)

THE END

(AUTHOR'S NOTE: Our house has an old cuckoo clock. The trick described by Crabtree actually works with this clock.)


End file.
